Reports: Spotify

Cover image for Live streamed concert demand

Live streamed concert demand
Ready for prime time

Mark Mulligan, Karol Severin and Kriss Thakrar

21 May 2021

Spotify Spotify live music

Virtual concerts went from zero to a hundred at an unprecedented rate during the pandemic-shaped 2020, and the momentum carried through to 2021. But if lockdown years are like dog years, then so too the evolution of the current virtual event marketplace has been concertinaed.

Cover image for Podcast audiences

Podcast audiences
Competing for attention

Mark Mulligan

20 May 2021

US UK France

2020 was a big year for podcasts, with increased investment, M&A activity and industry moves. Audiences grew too, but still lag behind in hype and expectation, and a portion of this growth has come at the direct expense of music streaming and radio.

Cover image for Creator culture

Creator culture
The song becomes the feed

Mark Mulligan and Kriss Thakrar

26 Apr 2021

Creators Spotify Spotify

The creator tools marketplace is creating a revolution in the culture and business of music. The third decade of the millennium represents the opening of a new chapter for the music business, with the means of production and distribution fully democratised.

Cover image for Spotify Q4 2020 earnings

Spotify Q4 2020 earnings
ARPU pays the price for growth

Mark Mulligan

28 Feb 2021

Subscriptions Streaming Streaming Music

In 2020 Spotify accelerated the growth of its total user base, with emerging markets playing a key role. However, revenue increases became decoupled from user growth across all categories, resulting in ARPU deflation. Companies and brands mentioned in...

Cover image for Media consumption

Media consumption
Lockdown’s attention boom

Mark Mulligan

12 Feb 2021

Consumer behaviour Spotify Spotify

2020 was a year like no other. With large swathes of the population confined to their homes for portions of the year, audiences had more time on their hands and more money in their pockets. These conditions created a boom in entertainment consumption, throwing up a mixture of intuitive trends and unexpected winners.

Cover image for Sports audiences

Sports audiences
The Gen Z opportunity

Alistair Taylor

8 Feb 2021

Apple Apple Spotify

Digital natives are more likely to consume non-live sports than older, traditional sports fans, which presents rights holders and broadcasters with untapped potential for monetisation by harnessing and actioning this insight. While the most valuable sports audience currently remains among pay-TV subscribers, planning for meaningful non-broadcast re...

Cover image for Music and Games Partnership Strategy

Music and Games Partnership Strategy
Beyond the Comfort Zone

Karol Severin

29 Jan 2021

Apple Spotify Spotify

Music companies are flocking to explore partnerships with games companies. Seeking a foothold in a fast-growing market, music companies are often looking for easy wins that fit traditional licensing models that monetise consumption. These however, typically do not align with the games industry’s spend-centric worldview.

Cover image for Music Product Strategy Re-boot

Music Product Strategy Re-boot
Time to Monetise Fandom, Not Access

Mark Mulligan

25 Jan 2021

Innovation Spotify Spotify

As streaming reaches maturity in many of the largest music markets and middle-tier artists struggle to make ends meet with the live music hiatus, the time has come for a music product strategy re-boot – for a bold, new wave of music products that look to build beyond streaming, delivering increased income for both rights holders and creators.

Cover image for Sports Rights

Sports Rights
The Great Reset

Alistair Taylor

16 Dec 2020

Spotify Spotify YouTube

COVID-19 exposed live entertainment as a vulnerable asset class during a global health crisis, rendering services overly reliant on live sports broadcasts as primary churn candidates. A major overhaul in rights valuations by pay-TV and sports SVOD distributors is under way.

Cover image for Cultural Trends in 2021

Cultural Trends in 2021
Navigating a New Normal

Hanna Kahlert

10 Dec 2020

Apple Apple Spotify

Behaviours under coronavirus-driven lockdowns accelerated underlying digital consumption trends. Remote working and ongoing restrictions mean streaming behaviour is up across formats and demographics at the same time that some traditional entertainment formats effectively ceased.

Cover image for Spotify Q3 2020 Earnings

Spotify Q3 2020 Earnings
The Shift to Free

Mark Mulligan

27 Nov 2020

Subscriptions Streaming Streaming Music

With three quarters of 2020 gone, Spotify has prospered during the most challenging of times, with consistent growth across most metrics. Q3 2020 saw a slight deviation from the script though, with ad-supported in the driving seat, especially in emerging markets.

Cover image for 2021 Predictions

2021 Predictions
The Year of the Immersive Web

Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin, Alistair Taylor and Hanna Kahlert

23 Nov 2020

Spotify Spotify Discovery

In this report MIDiA Research analysts present their predictions for what will be the big trends in digital media and tech across music, video, brands, marketing, games and sports in 2021 and beyond. Companies and brands mentioned in this report: Amazon...

Cover image for Creator Tools

Creator Tools
The Music Industry’s New Top of Funnel

Mark Mulligan

13 Nov 2020

Creators Apple Apple

Music production has traditionally been, at best, an adjacent industry to the recording business, and at worst simply a cost centre. That is now all changing. COVID-19’s disruption catalysed the already-rapid shift towards affordable production tools and the rise of a new generation of online platforms that are reimagining music production as SAA...

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State of the YouTube Music Economy 3.0
End of the Beginning

Mark Mulligan

30 Oct 2020

Spotify YouTube YouTube

This is the third bi-annual report of its kind, providing the most comprehensive view available of the YouTube music economy. It presents data for revenues, royalty payments, streams, subscribers, user behaviour and user demographics. We explore success factors, cultural trends, monetisation frameworks and contextualise music’s performance agains...

Cover image for Podcasts Q2 2020

Podcasts Q2 2020
Spotify Takes an Early Lead

Mark Mulligan

9 Oct 2020

US UK France

Podcasts have become the next battle front for audio. Spotify’s ambitious content and product strategy have enabled it to become an early leader, but the podcast market is still in its infancy, with adoption far lower than radio or streaming music. Podcasts have greater long-term market potential than music streaming but with many divergent objec...

Cover image for Music Subscriber Market Shares 4.0

Music Subscriber Market Shares 4.0
Subscriptions Decouple from Revenue

Mark Mulligan

18 Sep 2020

Subscriptions Streaming Music Subscriptions

This report presents key figures from MIDiA’s global music subscriber market shares model. The full dataset is published alongside this report with quarterly data from Q4 2015 to Q1 2020 and annual label trade revenue from full year 2015 to full year 2019 for 27 streaming services across 34 different markets.

Cover image for Music Marketing

Music Marketing
The Velocity Game

Mark Mulligan

24 Aug 2020

Spotify Spotify YouTube

Music streaming has become so central to the functioning of the record label business model that labels are becoming beholden to streaming service optimisation. A shift towards ever-larger numbers of new releases targeted at streaming success threatens to dislocate the underlying business model of bigger record labels and cause a disconnect between...

Cover image for Music Discovery

Music Discovery
Streaming’s Growing Role

Mark Mulligan

24 Aug 2020

Streaming Streaming Music Spotify

Radio has long led music discovery and continues to do so today. However, streaming – both audio and video – are making up ground fast, especially among more engaged and younger music fans. These shifts in discovery come as music marketing strategy is placing an ever-greater emphasis on streaming.

Cover image for Spotify Q2 2020 Earnings

Spotify Q2 2020 Earnings
In the Shadow of COVID

Mark Mulligan

18 Aug 2020

Subscriptions Streaming Streaming Music

Spotify’s share price grew strongly in June 2020, with the markets responding positively to its podcast investments. However, while that increase was sustained throughout July, by mid-August the share price was heading back down to late-June levels.

Cover image for Profiling Esports Viewers

Profiling Esports Viewers
The Synergy of Spend, Ad Receptiveness and Engagement

Karol Severin

11 Aug 2020

Consumer behaviour Spotify Spotify

As live events have halted, attracting non-endemic brands to esports via digital content has moved to the forefront for esports companies. But attracting the largest brands often requires close-to-mainstream demographic reach and a similar socioeconomic make-up.

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